Hello Matte painters. I was going to post this in general discussion, but I figure you all are the main one's using these things. I have spent seven years pursuing a career in 3D without much success. I've worked on a few projects and was a vfx supervisor on a smaller film. I am forced to be under-employed; making close-to minimum wage at a full time manufacturing job. I have a bit saved up finally, and am thinking of going in a different direction artistically. I have always been really good at illustration, and currently own a Wacom Intuos 3 regular tablet and love it. I treat it terribly and it still works like brand new. So I am thinking of spending my VERY-hard-earned money on a Wacom Cintiq 24HD. It is currently listed as $2,599.00 + shipping I bet. I am a bit concerned because of all the latest advances with Ipads and touch-screen tablets. It appears there is no decent alternative out yet (I've looked).

Should I spend the money? Or should I wait to see what might come out soon?

Thanks in advance all.

PS: Also, can I use my Wacom Art pens with the cintiq? (intuos pen and "art" pen)

nickmarshallvfx

03 March 2012, 06:21 PM

I'd say no.
It won't change the quality of your work, so if you are struggling to find solid vfx work, i think you should save the cash.
Where I work only a couple of people have Cintiq's, the rest all use Intuos, i still think it is the best solution, i would find it distracting if my hand was getting in the way. Stick with your Intuos and maybe invest in some good books or Gnomon / Digital Tutors tutorials to further your knowledge instead...

N

UniqueCharacter

03 March 2012, 10:18 PM

Thanks Nick. I've seen a ton of Gnomon and other training DVDs. I just live in the middle of nowhere so 3D work is hard to come by. Using the intuos isn't natural because I have to look up while drawing. I think it would change the quality of my work tremendously. I used the Cintiq 21 at college and I liked it fine, except for using Zbrush for some reason because it was hard to see what I was doing. It's pretty unfortunate that only one person replied to my thread, but I will take your advice seriously Nick. It is a great deal of money for someone who makes my wages. Thanks for your time.

ericu

03 March 2012, 12:51 AM

I'd say it depends on the direction you want to go. When I am matte painting I use the tablet because it is easier to do all the technical stuff without my hand in the way (as Nick pointed out). But for my concept work, especially line drawing I can't use the tablet, it won't allow for a natural flow of my hand. So I would say if you plan on doing a lot of drawing and painterly painting then you may want to make the investment. I have had one for about 4 years now and over time I would say that it has been worth it.
If you want to do mostly technical stuff like mattes, 3d and composting then I'd say no.
If you like to draw and paint I'd say yes, if you can afford it. Spend wisely :)

UniqueCharacter

03 March 2012, 12:58 AM

Thanks Ericu, I'm even more undecided. Maybe that means I shouldn't spend the money. Thanks for your help either way.

evakristjans

03 March 2012, 03:37 PM

Personally, I was more interested in the Cintiq when I primarily worked as an illustrator, then working with a lot of drawings with linework.

However, that's all I could see it was useful for - drawing and inking linework. I'd find it very uncomfortable always having my hand in the way when working on something technical, which goes for mattepainting, texturing, sculpting etc.

UniqueCharacter

03 March 2012, 10:43 PM

Eva, thanks for the comment. I am pretty good at drawing, and am thinking of getting back into that. I used the cintiq in college and it's pretty useless for anything but drawing stuff. Maybe I'll just get an Ipad or something. Thanks for everyone taking the time to contribute to my question.

ACiD80

03 March 2012, 11:26 AM

Damn i thought it was about wacom in general and clicked yes, but if its only about the cintiq id like to change that to 'no'. Sry :s

Quadart

03 March 2012, 06:15 PM

I really think you should post this thread in the general forum. There are probably more illustrators, concept artists, industrial/architectural concept designers that use the Cintiq than just matte painters. I'm sure you'll get a bunch of replies.

Iím not a matte painter per se, but I am an illustrator and the only thing that I can see using a Cintiq for is to be able to use drafting implements (straight edges, curves, ellipse templates, etc.) directly on the image as you can working traditionally. I entertained the thought of buying one for that reason alone. I see being able to use drafting tools on the image as a big plus if youíre doing industrial/mechanical design concept work or architectural concepting or finished work. Otherwise I canít see a real benefit to using a $2500 screen tablet for serious work.

I can understand the issue a lot of people have with remote drawing (drawing on one plane while seeing the stroke appear on another at 90į). It took a little getting used to, in my case, but wasn't that big a deal.

Fanko

04 April 2012, 05:05 AM

Cintiq is not really an ideal solution for matte painter because of the posture of using it will hurt your neck after long hours.

I would say this product is more suitable for concept designer or industrial design, because they want to achieve that clean accurate line quality in their work which a lot of people would find it difficult to do with an intuos

Bottomline is, a cintiq will not help your career, rather when you are successful and make plenty of money, then buy one for the luxury and convenient. But in most cases, u won't because your studio will probably provide you one at work.

FabioMSilva

04 April 2012, 02:14 PM

I'm guessing that most people who voted no on the cintiq never actually had one? Because if they did chances are they would definitely say yes. I have a 21ux and I can't live without it. honestly. expensive bit worth all its Pennies.

FabioMSilva

04 April 2012, 02:17 PM

I'd like to add that I use it with Photoshop, zbrush a Maya, max, and it's wonderful to navigate on windows as well with dual view.

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